Drinks

I think I have shared this many times before but I am a sucker for food that comes in packaging. I realize that sounds weird, but think dim sum dumplings, pierogis, ravioli, empanadas and the list goes on. Of course this morning I felt the desire to satisfy my need for food in packaging and so the hubby (very willingly I might add) and I decided we needed to visit Pearl Court. Located in the East End of Toronto (on the east side of the DVP) at Broadview and Gerrard is the East Chinatown and home to Pearl Court, my dim sum happy place. On weekends they bring out the dim sum carts and food is rolled past you tempting you to try things like the usual Har Gow and Sui Mai, but also chicken feet in oyster sauce and cow tripe with ginger. For $30 we left very full and satisfied.

So then I was thinking it might be fun to do another themed menu board and I thought about all the things that come in packages. Perhaps the most well known and versatile package is good old bread. So this week we are sticking everything between 2 slices and calling it the Sandwich Board!

While I doubt any of you need me to define what makes a sandwich I would imagine you are not as familiar with its history. The first written usage of the English word appeared in Edward Gibbon’s journal, in longhand, referring to “bits of cold meat” as a “Sandwich”. It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat. It is rumoured that he ordered his staff to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread, and others, in the fashion of When Harry Met Sally, began to order what Sandwich was having. It is said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this food as it allowed him to continue playing cards, particularly cribbage, while eating, without using a fork, and without getting his cards greasy from eating meat with his bare hands. You simply can’t argue with him. That is why sandwiches are so convenient for picnics.

We tend to eat a lot of sandwiches around these parts so it was not hard to come up with a series of sammies to include for this week. From this week’s menu bored I think I am most excited about the green goddess sandwich which has a tangy herbed mayo and lots of veggies, and the hubby, well this shouldn’t come as a surprise, is excited for the chicken IN waffles sandwich, a fried chicken breast between 2 waffles and topped with spicy maple syrup. Be sure to check out my Instagram account for pictures of all this week’s sandwiches.

And what goes best with a sandwich Why a beer of course! This weekend the beer of choice was the Bell City Eureka Cream Ale. Bell City is based out of Brantford where there is a brewery, tap room and sales area. Named Bell City, for the city where Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, this brewery names their beer after inventors. Their flagship beer, the Eureka Cream Ale is the only beer currently available in LCBOs (about 100 in Ontario) but is also becoming more and more available is restaurants in the GTA including some of our nearby favourites like Mugshot Tavern and Tallboys. The Cream Ale is a pre-prohibition ale that is creamy with a velvety mouth feel with a good depth of malt and hops. Simply put, thirst quenching on a hot Sunday afternoon as I prep fried chicken in my tiny kitchen.

I am sure that any of you reading this living in a cold climate like me are hoping for signs of winter to be over.

I found it today in the form of a seasonal brew from Great Lakes Brewery. I always love a seasonal beer, especially in the fall when they are all pumpkin flavoured. Going to Great Lakes Brewery on our way home from Costco has become a bit of a tradition, which makes the madness of Costco on a weekend a little more bearable and it was so exciting to find this little gem on our visit this weekend.

This brew is very citrusy with lots of grapefruit and tropical fruit flavours. This just makes me think of spring and lemonade and sitting outside in the summer drinking a nice crisp beer. I can almost image summer now, so long as I don’t look out the window.

To go with my citrusy beer I decided to roast a chicken, but rather than roast it whole I butterflied it so it will cook faster and I can get more flavour on the skin (and tonights flavour of choice was Piri Piri Sauce).

Butterflying a chicken is relatively easy. I recommend using scissors, preferably the kind that comes apart so you can make sure to get all the raw chicken off them before using them for something else. You can butterfly a whole chicken in 3 easy steps.

Step 1 – Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the chicken down one side of the backbone and through the ribs.

Step 2 – Make an identical cut on the opposite side to remove the backbone completely; discard (or reserve it for stock since you now never throw anything out after reading Stock Options! ).

Step 3 – Place the bird cut-side down (skin-side up) and flatten it with the heel of your hand; use both hands if you need to apply extra pressure. I usually lean onto the board until I feel the ribs snap.

Whole roast chicken usually takes 50-60 minutes to cook with 15 minutes to rest. By comparison a butterflied chicken is considerably faster with an average of 30-35 minutes cooking. You can enjoy a roast chicken without having to wait until Sunday to cook it.

This week’s menu board seems to be heavy on rice and noodles. I guess even though I am wishing spring was here, cold weather cooking is still driving my menu planning. I am looking forward to summer grills and salads, but I still love a curry or a pasta bake on a cold winters night. Nothing keeps me warm like a full belly. Moxie agrees!

This is what I see a lot of the time when I am cooking. A little face staring up at me hoping to get a taste of what I am cooking. Maybe a little piece of chicken or two “accidentally” dropped on the floor when I was cutting it. I mean how do you resist that face.